Regional Minister Manuel Miranda and Councillor Miguel Hidalgo signed an agreement with the regional minister to carry out works aimed at mitigating the risk of flooding in the Bellavista, Maspalomas, and Puerto Rico rivers.
The Department of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion, and Water of the Canary Islands Government has commissioned safety improvement works in the Bellavista, Maspalomas, and Puerto Rico ravines, all located in the south of Gran Canaria. This was announced this morning by the head of the aforementioned regional department, Manuel Miranda, who signed the staking out certificate for the start of the works, in the presence of the Island Minister for the Primary Sector, Food Sovereignty, and Water Security, Miguel Hidalgo. The works, which will be coordinated by both administrations, will involve an investment of over one million euros, 80% of which will come from European funds, and have an execution period of eight months.
Manuel Miranda explained that the project is part of the initiatives financed by Next Generation funds, which involve improvements in water supply, system digitalization, purification, and, as in this case, safety in the ravine channels. The objective is to install various water retention and lamination structures to ensure proper water flow in the event of heavy rainfall. The project will be carried out in the potential flood risk areas (ARPSI) of Bellavista and Maspalomas, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana; and in Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Mogán, over a length of 1,21 kilometers.
The contract was awarded to Empresa de Transformación Agraria SA (TRAGSA). Of the €798.460 million investment, €214.386 million came from the Canary Islands government's own budget. The signing was attended by Fernando Azcárate, director of the Water Unit of the Next Generation funds, and Carmelo Santana, manager of the Gran Canaria Island Water Council.
Manuel Miranda highlighted the importance of implementing these types of projects, which, "in a period like the present one of unstable weather conditions, improve the safety of ravine channels and the people who live in their surroundings." The regional minister praised the collaboration of the Gran Canaria Island Council, "with whom the best formula for implementing this project has been agreed upon," and emphasized the importance of developing projects of this nature on other islands. He cited as an example that, among the projects submitted to the Spanish Government for funding as works of general interest, there are 14 initiatives worth over €40 million, in addition to those promoted by the island councils and town councils themselves.
For his part, Miguel Hidalgo indicated that the works "are aligned with the Second Planning Cycle 2021–2027 of the Gran Canaria Flood Risk Management Plan, approved by our Island Water Council." This plan, he continued, "articulates an island strategy to prevent, anticipate, and reduce the risk of flooding in areas at significant risk, in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2007/60/EC."
Hidalgo explained that the aforementioned cycle "identifies a total of six areas at potential risk of flooding from pluvial-fluvial origin on the island, which are: Barranco de Las Goteras, Barranco de El Balo, Barranco de El Polvo, Barranco de Bellavista, Barranco de Maspalomas, and Barranco de Puerto Rico." "With the actions planned in this project," he continued, "we are directly intervening in three of them: Bellavista, Maspalomas, and Puerto Rico, which represents substantial progress in compliance with the program of measures of the PGRI itself and with the hydrological planning of Gran Canaria in its third cycle 2021–2027, which incorporates these actions as part of its integrated risk management strategy."
Finally, the island councilor highlighted "the importance of inter-administrative collaboration as a way to strengthen territorial resilience in the face of climate change and move toward safer and more sustainable management of water resources on the island."
